The Media's Double Standard

The mass media is one of the most powerful institutions in America society.
Americans obtain much of their understanding of the world around them
from what they read, see, and hear in the mass media.

In recent years, the media has come
under increasing criticism for inaccurate and biased coverage of important
social issues. As early as 1996, editor James Fallows leveled this charge:
"The institution of journalism is not doing its job well now. It is
irresponsible with its power." (1).

So how well is the media providing
a balanced and objective presentation of gender issues?

Coverage of Gender Issues

Six analyses have examined the coverage
of gender issues in the mass media, including the portrayal of men and
fathers:

1. One study analyzed how fathers
are portrayed in 102 shows on 6 networks during prime time television
during March and April 2000 (2). Each show that included a father as
a central, recurring character in at least 2 episodes was rated in terms
of the father's involvement, engagement, guidance, competency, and priority.

The study found that only 15 (14.7%)
of the TV shows included a father as a recurring, central character.
Of the 15 shows, only 4 portrayed the father as involved and competent.
Thus, fathers are seldom seen in prime time TV shows, and when they
do appear, they are usually depicted in negative light.

2. Tucker Carlson, co-host of CNN's
Crossfire program, recently commented on the way men are depicted in
TV advertisements (3). He notes that men are often portrayed as "dim,
lazy, pompous and incompetent, sometimes loveable, but fundamentally
ridiculous," and concludes that "it's likely that a steady diet of anti-male
advertising does affect everyone's view of men."

Ironically, Carlson observes that
men hardly complain about these negative depictions, "maybe because
complaining is one thing men don't do a lot of."

3. Don Feder examined how contemporary
American movies portray men (4). He found that, "Men are insecure, hesitant,
angst-ridden, self-centered, and ineffectual." He concluded that strong,
masculine male characters tend to be limited to old war movies, implying
that male heroism belongs only in a bygone era.

Feder chides Hollywood for implying
that traditional masculine virtues such as fortitude, stoicism, and
self-sacrifice no longer have a place in modern society.

4. In his acclaimed book, "Coloring
the News," William McGowan documents how newspapers give one-sided coverage
to such important topics as abortion, women in the military, and other
social issues. This coverage tends to highlight feminist perspectives
on the issues, but downplays or altogether ignores the male point of
view.

McGowan believes this bias is the
result of "pressures from feminist groups, and the media stategy committees
within them, who are very successful at guilt-tripping female journalists
into believing that their reporting 'is hurting the cause.'" (5).

5. Author Warren Farrell coined the
term "the Lace Curtain" to describe how the media filter out male perspectives
from news and editorial coverage. Farrell gives many examples from his
personal experiences of the difficulty of securing media coverage of
issues from a male perspective.

For example, Farrell had been invited
to do an interview on the Donahue show about one of his books. But the
taping was repeatedly rescheduled. Finally, a producer admitted that
when feminist leaders had been invited to also appear on the show, they
threatened the producers with the shrill allegation that "Feminism is
opposed to rape and the battering of women; so if you have him on, you'd
better take responsibility for making women even more vulnerable."

Finally, the idea to do the interview
was dropped. Farrell concludes, "The unwillingness to debate is part
of the corruption of power." (6).

6. In his best-selling book "Bias"
(7), Bernard Goldberg provides documentation of widespread anti-male
bias in the media. In his chapter, "Targeting Men," Goldberg documents
the following defamatory statements that appeared in the New York Times:

"Women may not find this surprising, but one of the most persistent
and frustrating problems in evolutionary biology is the male. Specifically...why
doesn't he just go away?" -- Natalie Angier, May 17, 1994.

"The section you are reading is about women's health. And so what
better place to address the question: Are they worth it?...Do we
live better with men or without them?" -- Natalie Angier, Father's
Day, June 21, 1998

"Don't Expect Too Much of Men" -- Book review headline, March
11, 1990

Questioning the Double Standard

If a man, refering to Jews, asked,
"Why don't they just go away?," he might be accused of promoting genocide.

If a politician asked if African-Americans
"were worth it?," he would be labeled as a racist and be forced to resign
his position of leadership.

If a man posed the question, "Do we
live better with women or without women," he would no doubt be terminated
from his place of employment.

But when it comes to men, television
shows, TV advertisements, movies, and newspapers appear to be at liberty
to mock men, and to do so with impunity.

Focus on the New York Times

This series of Special Reports will
turn the spotlight on the New York Times. The Times has become the most
influential media outlet in the United States, for several reasons:

1. The New York Times (NYT) has a
daily circulation of 1.1 million, making it one of the most widely read
newspapers in the country.

2. NYT articles are frequently reprinted
in other newspapers around the country, and often define what stories
the network news programs will cover that evening.

3. The NYT editorial philosophy influences
the thinking of editors around the country.

The next three Special Reports will
analyze how this double standard has come to distort coverage of sex-specific
health issues.